Potentially life-threatening symptoms or conditions demand immediate treatment.  If you think you have a condition requiring emergency medical treatment, do not hesitate to call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

This is how we define an emergency medical condition:
An emergency medical condition manifests as acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that a prudent layperson, who possesses an average knowledge of health and medicine, could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in:

• Placing the health of the individual (or, with respect to a pregnant woman, the health of the woman and her unborn child) in serious jeopardy
  
  
• Serious impairment to bodily functions
  
  
• Serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part

The existence of severe pain and other systems may constitute an emergency condition. Here are some examples of an emergency medical condition:

1. Apparent heart attack


2. Stupor


3. Uncontrolled bleeding


4. Severe or multiple injuries


5. Unconsciousness


6. Head injuries


7. Broken bones


8. Severe pain


9. Convulsions


10. Difficulty breathing


11. Poisoning


12. Severe burns

If you receive emergency treatment, notify your PCP’s office within 24-48 hours, or as soon as possible.  Your PCP will help arrange for follow-up care if it is needed.

Urgent Care. Sometimes situations occur that, in your judgment, require prompt medical attention, but they do not require emergency care.  Those are considered urgent situations.  For urgently needed care, call your PCP for advice.  You may need to make an appointment to be seen right away, or you may need to go to an urgent care center affiliated with Valley Care IPA. 

Do not go to an urgent care center without first calling your PCP’s office and having an urgent care center visit approved. Urgent care center visits are approved only after normal office hours, on weekends and over holidays.

Here are some examples of urgent care situations that are best treated in your PCP’s office or an urgent care center:

1. Colds or flu


2. Minor sprains


3. Contagious viruses (measles, chicken pox


4. Longlasting or high fevers


5. Ear infections


6. Muscle pulls and strains


7. Mild allergic reactions

Important! Do not rely on these or any other list of emergency medical conditions and urgent situation.  Sometimes it can be difficult to tell how serious your condition is.  Use your judgment, but whenever possible, call your PCP for medical advice.